Banks: "I know I'm an overachiever, and I'm not apologetic about it."

Banks: "I would not recommend a teen getting into modeling if they're not solid when it comes to their grades and school. That comes first. My mother always told me that came first."

Banks: "I've always seen modeling as a stepping stone." 

Banks: "I'm trying to build a strong business. I want to create new stars, new shows and new products for my audience and create a legacy that outlives me. There are so many other ways I want to reach women besides doing a talk show."

Banks: "There's always going to be dreams and goals I have, but I never really tell people what they are."

Banks: "I have so many goals."

Banks: "It's so important to understand your good attendance ups your chances of graduating."

Banks: "Global warming will threaten our crops, so natural food will be scarce. Hourglass, curvy bodies will be the aspirational beauty standard, representing that those women have access to bounties of fulfilling yet healthy food, which means they are affluent."

Banks: "I am a businesswoman who goes to work every single day."

Banks: "I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'"

Banks: "Black women have always been these vixens, these animalistic erotic women. Why can't we just be the sexy American girl next door?"

Banks: "Even when I was a teen model, I didn't think it was fair that I had to enter the acting world to get insurance."

Banks: "I'm frugal. I've always been this way. When I was young, my mom would give me my allowance, and I'd peel off a little each week and have some to spare."

Banks: "Being first lady is not just about being the wife but really taking command and having true vision."

Banks: "I gave myself a year to be a supermodel. And I said, 'If it doesn't happen, I'm going back to school.'"

Banks: "I have a long list of different smiles that you can do, and every model should be equipped. Everybody can't handle the long list... That's for, you know, advanced."

Banks: "I just think, as a model, it's taught me to be a master of deception and illusion."

Banks: "I don't go to the cool, trendy restaurants. I go to either the holes in the wall or the super-fancy restaurants where there are no cool people."

Banks: "I don't have the best self esteem; mine wavers month to month, but I know how to pick myself up."

Banks: "I created 'America's Next Top Model' one-hundred percent. I was in my kitchen making tea one morning, and I looked out the window, and the idea popped into my head. I wanted it to be 'American Idol' meets 'Ford Supermodel of the Year' meets 'The Real World.'"

Banks: "With the whole supermodel thing, even when you're not really modeling anymore, people still call me that. And I'm like '... retired.'"

Banks: "People always ask me if I'm going to stop modeling because I have started an acting career. I hope to continue to model for years to come."